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New CU-Boulder study reveals bacteria from dog feces in outdoor air of urbanized air
University of Colorado at Boulder ^ | August 18, 2011 | Unknown

Posted on 08/18/2011 5:19:41 PM PDT by decimon

Bacteria from fecal material -- in particular, dog fecal material -- may constitute the dominant source of airborne bacteria in Cleveland's and Detroit's wintertime air, says a new University of Colorado Boulder study.

The CU-Boulder study showed that of the four Midwestern cities in the experiment, two cities had significant quantities of fecal bacteria in the atmosphere -- with dog feces being the most likely source.

"We found unexpectedly high bacterial diversity in all of our samples, but to our surprise the airborne bacterial communities of Detroit and Cleveland most closely resembled those communities found in dog poop," said lead author Robert Bowers, a graduate student in CU-Boulder's ecology and evolutionary biology department and the CU-headquartered Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, or CIRES. "This suggests that dog poop may be a potential source of bacteria to the atmosphere at these locations."

The study was published July 29 in Applied and Environmental Microbiology. Co-authors on the study included Noah Fierer, an assistant professor in CU-Boulder's ecology and evolutionary biology department and a CIRES fellow; Rob Knight, an associate professor in CU-Boulder's chemistry and biochemistry department; Amy Sullivan and Jeff Collett Jr. of Colorado State University; and Elizabeth Costello of the Stanford University School of Medicine.

Scientists already knew that bacteria exist in the atmosphere and that these bacteria can have detrimental effects on human health, triggering allergic asthma and seasonal allergies, Fierer said. But it is only in recent years that researchers have realized that there is an incredible diversity of bacteriaresiding in the air, he said.

"There is a real knowledge gap," said Fierer. "We are just starting to realize this uncharted microbial diversity in the air -- a place where you wouldn't exactly expect microbes to be living."

To gain further understanding of just what microbes are circulating in urban environments, the team analyzed the local atmosphere in the summer and winter at four locations in the Great Lakes region of the U.S. Three of the locations -- Chicago, Cleveland and Detroit -- are major cities with populations of greater than 2 million, and one location, Mayville, Wis., is a small town with a population of less than 6,000.

The team used nearly 100 air samples collected as part of a previous study conducted by Colorado State University. The CSU experiment investigated the impact of biomass burning and involved studying the impacts of residential wood burning and prescribed fires on airborne fine particle concentrations in the midwestern United States.

"What we've been looking at are the numbers and the types of bacteria in the atmosphere," Fierer said. "We breathe in bacteria every minute we are outside, and some of these bugs may have potential health implications."

The researchers analyzed the bacteria's DNA in the collected air samples and compared the bacteria they found against a database of bacteria from known sources such as leaf surfaces, soil, and human, cow and dog feces. They discovered that the bacterial communities in the air were surprisingly diverse and also that, in two of the four locations, dog feces were a greater than expected source of bacteria in the atmosphere in the winter.

In the summer, airborne bacteria come from many sources including soil, dust, leafsurfaces, lakes and oceans, Bowers said. But in the winter, as leaves drop and snow covers the ground, the influence that these environments have as sources also goes down. It is during this season that the airborne communities appeared to be more influenced by dog feces than the other sources tested in the experiment, he said.

"As best as we can tell, dog feces are the only explanation for these results," Fierer said. "But we do need to do more research."

The team plans to investigate the bacterial communities in other cities and to build a continental-scale atlas of airborne bacterial communities, Fierer said. "We don't know if the patterns we observed in those sites are unique to those cities," he said. "Does San Francisco have the same bacteria as New York? Nobody knows as yet."

Fierer believes it is important to pin down the types of bacteria in the air, how these bacteria vary by location and season, and where they are coming from.With this information, scientists can then investigate the possible impacts on human health, he said.

"We need much better information on what sources of bacteria we are breathing in every time we go outside," Fierer said.

###

The study was funded by the CIRES Innovative Research Program, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the National Science Foundation, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the National Institutes of Health. The aerosol sample collection for this project was supported by the Lake Michigan Air Directors Consortium.

CIRES is a joint institute of CU-Boulder and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.


TOPICS: Health/Medicine; Pets/Animals; Science
KEYWORDS:
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To: momtothree; gorush

Dog poop is great fertilizer!! :)) (Love your pics, gorush!!)


41 posted on 08/18/2011 7:16:40 PM PDT by JLLH
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To: ken21

Yes traffic is loud. What are the freeways made out of where you live?


42 posted on 08/18/2011 7:21:49 PM PDT by Ditter
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To: Ditter

We are dog sitting our son’s 170 lb. English Mastiff while he is on vacation. I know all about HUGE piles. We had to drag out the snow shovel from the shed to handle Truman’s massive mountains of recycled Iam’s.

I agree with you. Car exhaust is more offensive.


43 posted on 08/18/2011 7:21:49 PM PDT by Rushmore Rocks
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To: Ditter

asphalt.

it’s quieter.


44 posted on 08/18/2011 7:30:11 PM PDT by ken21 (ruling class dem + rino progressives -- destroying america for 150 years.)
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To: decimon

Smells like cow sh*t where I live - and I like it.


45 posted on 08/18/2011 7:33:10 PM PDT by WorkingClassFilth
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To: Rushmore Rocks
I understand about mountains of Mastiff poop. Our next door neighbors have 2 of the monstrous animals. Sweet dogs but intimidating. Their fire alarm went off the other day when they were at work so I ran over with the key in case the firemen needed to go in. The dogs were inside looking out at the firemen, one of the firemen about 6'5” 300lbs, looked at the dogs and asked me if I would go in first. I am a 71 year old woman 5'2” so I just looked at him and mouthed the word ‘pussy’. It was a pretty funny moment.
46 posted on 08/18/2011 7:34:19 PM PDT by Ditter
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To: ken21

We have asphalt roads too, in places.


47 posted on 08/18/2011 7:35:58 PM PDT by Ditter
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To: decimon

Think of what horses produced in cities a hundred years ago.


48 posted on 08/18/2011 7:45:49 PM PDT by razorback-bert (Some days it's not worth chewing through the straps.)
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To: decimon; AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Berosus; bigheadfred; Bockscar; ColdOne; ...

The air in this city is quite fetching.


49 posted on 08/18/2011 8:13:40 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Yes, as a matter of fact, it is that time again -- https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: decimon

Oh no! Dog poop causes global warming

Sic the Feds on Fido. Alert Algore that a new Crap, Scoop and Trade Program is needed.


50 posted on 08/18/2011 8:24:00 PM PDT by DeFault User
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To: SunkenCiv
The air in this city is quite fetching.

Sticks in your mouth.

51 posted on 08/18/2011 9:08:06 PM PDT by decimon
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To: decimon

Where’s Bo? Has anybody seen Bo lately?


52 posted on 08/18/2011 9:14:08 PM PDT by Rocky (REPEAL IT!)
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To: decimon
CU Boulder, I think they mistook their own odor for dog feces
53 posted on 08/18/2011 9:17:29 PM PDT by dalereed (uity wise!)
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To: SunkenCiv
The air in this city is quite fetching.

ZOT.

;-)

54 posted on 08/18/2011 9:44:50 PM PDT by grey_whiskers (The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change without notice.)
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To: gorush

Your Corgis and your gardens are gorgeous.


55 posted on 08/19/2011 1:34:32 AM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
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To: decimon

They are trying to come up with an excuse to get rid our our animals, and they’ll have a hell of a fight when they get to me.


56 posted on 08/19/2011 8:29:13 PM PDT by Shadowstrike (Be polite, Be professional, but have a plan to kill everyone you meet.)
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To: decimon; Mother Abigail; EBH; vetvetdoug; Smokin' Joe; Global2010; Battle Axe; null and void; ...
micro ping

Sources of bacteria in outdoor air across cities in the midwestern United States

57 posted on 08/19/2011 9:35:58 PM PDT by neverdem (Xin loi minh oi)
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To: decimon
First it was cigarettes...

Now it's second-hand dog poop.

If it isn't one thing, it's another.

No wonder the SPCA/HSUS wants all those dogs 'sterilized'...

58 posted on 08/20/2011 12:36:19 AM PDT by Smokin' Joe (How often God must weep at humans' folly. Stand fast. God knows what He is doing.)
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To: meatloaf
That is an easy one.
It will be the dry poop that moves into the air not moist stuff. Which means regular clean up and that could be in-forced different means. One would be air samples near homes.
59 posted on 08/21/2011 9:17:03 PM PDT by Steve Van Doorn (*in my best Eric Cartman voice* 'I love you, guys')
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To: Ditter

That was absolutely priceless!


60 posted on 08/21/2011 11:14:24 PM PDT by meatloaf (It's time to push back against out of control government.)
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